Happy Father's Day!

I'd like to take a moment to give a shout out to all the dads out there, especially my dad!

The resemblance is uncanny, don't you think!?

On this Father's Day, I'm going to talk about a couple random awesome things my dad did for me when I was growing up....

There was an arcade about two blocks from our house called Center Street Games. My dad used to take me and my brothers down there to play arcade games. It wasn't open very long, and in my mind, we went about 2-3 times, but who knows? It was so long ago and something very random I just thought of when I decided to write this post!

When I was in high school, my mom and I used to take a bus trip to NYC once a year. The main reason for going was to see a Broadway show, but she would also let me buy some clothes at Macy's and sheet music at a huge music store called The Colony. This was the once a year rare occasion where my mom pretty much spoiled me! Well one year, my cousin was competing in the state wrestling championship that happened to be on the exact day of our bus trip. My mom was going to the championship and wouldn't be able to take me to NYC. Guess who stepped up to the plate? DAD! Looking back, I realize seeing a Broadway show (Cats!) and shopping in NYC probably wasn't on the top of my dad's "Favorite Things To Do List", but he did it, and if he wasn't having fun, I wasn't able to tell. At intermission for Cats, they were selling posters signed by the cast for $50.... and you guessed it, my dad let me buy one! The best part was they were selling the posters ON THE STAGE, so I actually got to go up and stand on a BROADWAY STAGE!!! That was worth the $50 itself. But of course I was tickled pink to have the poster and it hung in my bedroom until I moved out of the house. I still have it tucked away safe in our basement.

My dad worked the night shift at Amtrak. When he would come home in the morning, he would sometimes bring my brothers and I donuts and Swedish fish that he would pick up at the gas station on the way home. 

Dad made up all kinds of games for us to play when we were kids. One game was called "Don't get on my back while I'm sleeping". The name of the game doesn't quite roll off the tongue, but that is what it was called. My dad would sit my brothers and I on the couch and very seriously say, "I'm going to go over here and take a nap. Now whatever you do, don't get on my back while I'm sleeping." So then he'd lay on his belly about six feet in front of the couch and pretend to go to sleep. That was the cue for my brothers and I to sneak over to him and try to get on his back before he "woke up". If he "woke up", he would chase us back to the couch, lay down the law again, and the whole game would start over. FREAKING AWESOME GAME!!!

During my freshman year of college, I went to IUP in Indiana, PA, and my boyfriend (not Paul) went to college at Berklee in Boston. I can't remember exactly what month it was, but I had some sort of long weekend where I planned to go see my boyfriend for the first time since saying going off to college. My dad worked for Amtrak, so I was able to ride the train for free at that point. I rode the train from Latrobe to Harrisburg. At Harrisburg, my dad got on the train and rode to Philly with me, where I had a 2-3 hour layover. He sat in the train station with me that whole time until it was time to hop on the train that would take me right to Boston. This layover was in the middle of the night and my dad was there because I know my parents didn't want me to sit in the train station in Philly alone in the middle of the night. I know what you're thinking- I have quite the dad!!!

One of the cool things my dad and I have got to do in the last couple years is run and race together. My dad has always been athletic. I hope fitness is something I value throughout my life, just like my dad!

Dad, words and blog posts cannot express how lucky I am to be your daughter! Happy Father's Day!